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Don't forget. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books are all for kids. And we're not talking about Leon levels of violence here. It's monsters getting killed quickly and then moving on. Apart from perhaps the decapitation of an orc, there's no big moments of long drawn out torturous violence.

"Halo is designed to make the player think "I look like that, I am macho sitting in my undies with my xbox""

Kon-Tiki is a dramatized account of the famous 1947 expedition to cross the Pacific by raft. The true story is interesting, and this is a mostly well made film, but the fictionalized bits really stick out like a sore thumb.

The Way Back is a well portrayed (and astonishing) true story of a group that escaped from a Siberian gulag in WWII and then walked 4000 miles to India. It's not exactly a "feel good" movie, but perhaps the sort to make one appreciate life.

Burn is a documentary about underfunded firefighters struggling with widespread arson in Detroit. Unfortunately it's very heavy on appeals to emotion and light on statistics.

The Hunter surprised me. It's thoughtful, slow, and tense, and I liked the ending. There's some good commentary on manmade extinctions, genetic engineering, and intellectual property scattered in here.

Blackfish makes a convincing argument against keeping whales in captivity, and is especially damning of SeaWorld.

The History of Future Folk is entertaining and funny, but also very average (and poor SciFi). There are a couple good videogame gags that made me laugh.

The Keep seems to be not quite a cult classic, but I would watch it again if it were remastered with the missing 90 minutes that were cut and a better transfer and audio mix. I can see why some people like it, but also why Michael Mann disowned it.

The Virgin Suicides was very disappointing. It's sloppy about addressing the subject matter and something's not quite right about the tone, so much so that I found it off-putting. The narration didn't really work for me, there's too much bullshit, and no one asks the serious questions. It needed more focus and editing, and I just didn't buy it overall.

Jack Reacher is a big budget pulp B-movie thriller. Not remotely believable, but I was entertained.

The Wall is a story about isolation that just has nothing to say. Isolation sucks ... and so what? Intriguing, well made, but rather pointless.

Sightseers had a few good lines, but is just too callous and stupid. The summaries are misleading and I disliked most of it.

More than Honey is about bees, industrial beekeeping, and colony collapse disorder. Informative and compelling, but there's nothing new here if you've been reading any science news for the last decade.

The Wall is a story about isolation that just has nothing to say. Isolation sucks ... and so what? Intriguing, well made, but rather pointless.

Whaaat

You mean that film adaptation of one of the most culture influential rock album ever written is pointless? Also this movie have more themes than isolation, like anti-war message, critique of 60' England schools etc. Wars suck... and so what? Fu***ng everything. You shouldn't say that next anti-war movie is pointless (especially when said movie is original and good), because our sad little civilisation constantly needs reminders like these.

Anyway I've watched "Andrei Rublev" by Andrei Tarkowski. It's visually stunning as always but I liked his other movies better.
Now (had to split it into 2 parts, I rarely can watch ~3h movie in one go) I'm watching "Solaris" also by Tarkowski. I'm glad I didn't read the book first, because movie is very good, but I heard it was so different from book that even Lem was disappointed.

I've finished Solaris. Also not as good as other Tarowski movies, but still great.
Now I'm sad because I've watched all his films except of that propaganda one (which honestly I don't even want to see) and his second shorter feature. :(

World-War Z - Just watched this on the weekend and it is terrible. I was really expecting more from it and, I don't want to start any arguments here, but the whole Israel thing in the middle really threw me off it completely.
Office Space - Can't believe I never seen this movie before, damn good. Had my 'Oh' face on.

World-War Z - Just watched this on the weekend and it is terrible. I was really expecting more from it and, I don't want to start any arguments here, but the whole Israel thing in the middle really threw me off it completely. [B]

I had to laugh. Everything was going so well for israel, until those pesky Palestinians just I]had[/I] to have a loud party and ruin everything. All sorts of stupid, but then again I thought the book was over rated and traded off the worst racial stereotypes going (oh goodness gracious me, etc, etc), so that it didn't go down that route was in many ways a blessing

47 Ronin was a bit of a let down. It follows the legend decently. The tattooed dutch pirate show in all the ads and posters is in the movie for like 15 seconds. No final showdown vs big samurai.

You are better off watching or re-watching 13 Assassins if you need some samurai epic.

I guess the role was good for the actor that is Keeanu Reeves.

I also saw those two movies recently, but agree with wrestledwithgod, Seven Samurai wipes the floor with those films, and more.
13 Assassins is a bloody mess, they read Seven Samurai's synopsis and then mixed 300. The tone doesn't match with all the other dark stuff going on, and boy it sure is bleak.
47 Ronin is a bit better, with nods to Mononoke and all, but it's too Westernized, if I may. Keanu Reeves is the only non-Japanese cast member, why the hell do they speak with Cockney accents? Still, it was better than I expected, considering it's the director's first film.

Originally Posted by Kadayi

Watched Don Jon with Joseph Gordon Levitt, Scarlett Johansson & Maude Lebowski (Julianne Moore). About a porn obsessed guy. It was pretty well done, and JGL has a certain degree of charisma to him, but be aware it doesn't hold back on the occasional porn clips in there (albeit no wangs on display). Not a date movie necessarily.

As long as there are no schlongs.

Originally Posted by GameCat

Oh, sorry then.

I've finished Solaris. Also not as good as other Tarowski movies, but still great.
Now I'm sad because I've watched all his films except of that propaganda one (which honestly I don't even want to see) and his second shorter feature. :(

I found Solaris a very interesting slog. As in, very interesting, but still a slog. I was going to watch Stalker soon, not sure if it's a bit better?

I also watched Lawrence of Arabia and found it really great, the hype is justified. So many great scenes, the photography is breathtaking! Tour-de-force for Peter O'Toole, just wow.
EDIT: Oh, and the music is amazing, blatantly copied for Prince of Persia, the 2008 game.

Next up, The Terminator, all of them except Salvation (yet). Solid action movies, and Sarah Connor is a great character. Except when the plot gets always more contrived. Time travel has this downside. John Connor is a whinny bitch, but I liked Claire Danes' character. In fact, the third is probably the most self-aware of all 3, which makes it my favourite.

I found Solaris a very interesting slog. As in, very interesting, but still a slog. I was going to watch Stalker soon, not sure if it's a bit better?

I thought the same thing with Solaris I thought it did the paranoia of the ship quite well and the strange atmosphere but I felt it kind of put what should have been the main focus the getting back the wife and the emotions of that behind to much weirdness so you couldn't really get into it. I would say Stalker is better it has the strange atmosphere still but it gets the personal story just right which actually really got to me by the end. I will say the middle does seem to be a philosophy lecture.

Finally got to see Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug and have to say gripping, fun as the last one but a lot more intense which I loved. The Mirkwood scene was great with the weirdness captured really well. The barrel scene was quite funny. But obvkously the best scene was the one with Bilbo and Smaug just has everything in it and I was on the edge of my seat all the time with it. Its a bit to long felt like it nearer the end but it is what it is.

Next up, The Terminator, all of them except Salvation (yet). Solid action movies, and Sarah Connor is a great character. Except when the plot gets always more contrived. Time travel has this downside. John Connor is a whinny bitch, but I liked Claire Danes' character. In fact, the third is probably the most self-aware of all 3, which makes it my favourite.

WHAT :o Terminator 2 is one of the best action movies out there! GET OUT OF HERE! HOPHOP!

WHAT :o Terminator 2 is one of the best action movies out there! GET OUT OF HERE! HOPHOP!

John Connor can go die in a fire, what a whiner! I know he's supposed to be 10 or so, but still! His mother is much cooler, and that's why I prefer the first one. I saw Terminator: Salvation (or should I say, Wasteland: The Action Movie of the Game) and found it actually better than the older ones. The second film had already destroyed any semblance of continuity, and the third one is my favourite, so this is right up my alley. Even with the fake Arhnold.

Moving on. I also saw Twilight Samurai and it's top notch. Awkward but hard working middle-class Samurai with an happy ending allows you to travel to an imagined place where karma is a thing and the main conflict is people talking. Beats alcohol in making you forget the hardships of life.

I committed a cardinal sin by watching 2046 before the other two in the trilogy, but it works fairly well on it's own. And by works I mean, things happened involving some asshole writer, and I understood most of it, but there seem to be a lot of questions still up in the air. Perhaps it would be arty enough if it wasn't. Having Zhang Ziyi on the cast makes me morally obliged to like it, so there's that.

On an unrelated note, if you want to laugh your ass off, cringe and learn little tidbits about the PC Wars, Triumph of the Nerds by the aptly named Robert Cringely takes the cake. Sure, he doesn't really know how a computer really works (neither some of the early "pioneers" from what I can tell(Not (only) a jab at Jobs)), but it presents some facts in a compelling way. Not to mention Xerox PARC is thoroughly discussed. Warning: Contains Steve Ballmer and a minimal part of Jobs' ego.

(Re)Watching Speed Racer makes me appreciate it even more. Absolutely stunning. A Live-Action Anime(or a much wackier Cannonball Run), star-studded cast, trip-inducing imagery.
It's also a allegory for the Wachowski themselves, how they shouldn't let the business change them. It's not always about winning, but winning allows you to keep racing, I mean making films.
An hidden gem.

I love Speed Racer. Pure entertainment and a commitment to gloriously campy action packed silliness that rarely gets play these days. Whatever your opinion on the Wachowski siblings, they commit to their vision. And its a film that deserves a 50inch Blu-Ray treatment. Its a beautifully visual and colour filled film.

Also saw American Hustle. Hmm, pretty good. Well constructed down to the last detail. I like how all of David O'Russell's films have characters that actively talk and expose themselves willingly to each other. There's something refreshingly honest about that.

There's nothing particularly new or inventive with regards to the story - its pretty straightforward - but the way all the characters move it along is captivating. And I love the deliberate aesthetic of the movie being so 70s; the slight grain to the film, the soundtrack, a few surreal OTT moments (I love the bit when the spotlight blows and Cooper and Adams walk through the smoke). And a special shout out to the ladies; everything hinges on Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence's characters plot wise and they absolutely nail the roles. Amy Adams in particular switches between her two personalities effortlessly, it's pretty fucking cool.

And it took me a few minutes to clock Renner and Louis C.K. which speaks volumes about how well they handled their parts in the film as well. And a brilliantly menacing cameo that adds just the right amount of suspense to the film. Everything was constructed in such a detailed and thoughtful manner.

A solid actor's film. Everyone needed to be charismatic in their roles and it worked. And I can't believe Lawrence is fucking 22, geez what an actor.

Her great little movie with Joaquin Phoenix is a lonely guy that buys an advanced OS that he falls for!. Scarlett Johansen is good as the OS, the story is strange but it really works. Reminds me of the series Black Mirror

On (US) Netflix last weekend I watched Dead Heat, an 80s movie starring Treat Williams as a detective investigating the sudden appearance a gang of criminals who have come back from the dead. I had never heard of this film before and wasn't expecting much but I was stunned - holy crap it is amazing. It's equal parts body horror, action, comedy and stupid. There are some cracking set pieces and some honestly fantastic and gross practical effects. If Treat Williams isn't enough of a recommendation, it also has Vincent Price! Awesome, dumb fun.

I still need to mention all the wuxia and Japanese films I watched over the holidays. Suffice to say, it was a lot of films!